Planing machine



J. E. MALAM PLANING MACHINE July 19, 1938.

' Filed Sept. 9, 1935 7 Sheets-Sheet l doH/v [ow/N MA LA M July 19, 1938. J. E. MALAM PLANING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 9, 1955 July 19, 1938. J. E. MALAM PLANING MACHINE Filed Sept. 9, 1 35 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 efohw Eon/ml MAL AM July 19, 1938. J. E. MALAM PLANING MACHINE Filed Sept. 9, 1955 I 40 68 1 al I I/IIK; i

7 Sheets-Sheet 4 July 19, 1938.

J. E. MALAM PLANING MACHINE Filed Sept. 9, 1955 '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 flit/0211 507? I Jam [0mm li/AA/I/VL July 19', 1938. J. E. MALAM PLANINIG MACHINE Fild Sept. 9, 1955 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Zia anion c/bm [m/m/ IMAM M.

July 19, 1938, J. E. MALAM PLANING' MACHINE Filed Sept, 9, 1935 '7 Sheets-Sheet 7 li zvemima domvfowx/v MALAM "Pa'tented July 19,1938 I 2,124,386

' 3 UNITED" STATES "PATENT OFFICE 'PLANING MACHINE .John Edwin Malam, Birmingham,; England, assignor to Imperial Chemical Industries Limited, a corporation of Great Britain Application September 9, 1935, Serial No; 39,846

In Great Britain November 23; 1934 a ,17 Claims. (01.,905-38) This invention relates tothescraping, plan- The term depth as applied to the operating ing, milling, cleaning or like. treatment, of metal device is employed to denote the location of the or other surfaces and to new and improved 'apd v in relation t th machine ed r th r paratus for carrying out such operations. The standard of reference independent of'the' surinvention relates in particular to a method and face being treated. "Thus, "according to the in- ?5 apparatus for preparing the surface of metal vention, if the surface of the strip is not persheets, plates or strips prior to cold rolling opfectly fia l Cutting dg o he.t001 is autoerations, V V matically raised or lowered to follow the surface 7 The surface of hot rolled metal plates, sheets contour of the sheet so that the depth of out 10 or strips, especially if such sheets are made'of or thickness of the layer removed is substantially 10 non-ferrous metal such as brass or copper, freconstant. quently has to be scraped or otherwise cleaned 'The machines within the invention take variprior to or at some intermediate stage of the 0113 forms but all embody a tool of a suitable rolling process in order to ensure that the surt fOrTemOVing a Surface layer of Small h ckface of the finished sheet is bright, smooth, and ness from the non-p Strip material to be free from surface defects. These scraping or surfaced and also embody a roller'or other suitcleaning operations are sometimes carried out by able pp contacting e sll ace 0f the said means of hand tools but are then tedious and material ata point abreast of and substantially slow and involve high labour costs. While it is in alignment-with the cutting edge of the tool,

known to clean thick metal sheets or slabs prior said roller or equivalent support being rigidly 2 to cold rolling by grinding or machining the mounted relative to "the tool so as to be movsurface, it has not hitherto been known to reable up and downtogether as they are carried move from the material a'very shallow surface along in the operation of the machine over the layer of uniform thickness, e. g. a uniform layer stripmaterial and presseddown intoengagement of less than five thousandths of an inch, "unless therewith, or, alternatively, when the strip ma- 25 the surface being treate is absolutely flat. The teri'al 'is moved-longitudinally relative to theclifficulties in removing such a thin uniform laytool. Ifthe contact of the roller with the surer are much enhanced when the thicknessof the face of the material is :not abreast of and subrolled sheet or strip is less than, for example, stantially in alignment with the-cutting edge of one fifth of an inch and When the "strip does the tool, the machine is notoperative to surface 30 not lie flat on the machine bed and cannot thin undulating or buckled metal sheets which readily be flattened. Itha-s been proposed to is theobject of this invention. Thus if the roller clean metal sheetsprior'to cold rolling by asscontacts the sheet substantially behind the cuting them through a form of press in contact with ting edge of the tool, the tool tends to dig into canvas" or like cleaning material. This method any ridge or ripple extending across the strip 35 of cleaning has not been found to be entirely before the roller can contact with it to raise satisfactory since surface blemishes are not comthe tool and consequently uniform depth of cut pletely removed. is not obtained.

The object of my invention is to provide an Moreover, when the roller rides over the ridge 40 improved method and apparatus for scraping, it lifts the tool completely clear of the surface 40 planing, milling or cleaning, which will be free of the sheet in front of the ridge, resulting in from the objections referredto and which will'be an untreated patch. Furthermore, equally uncapable of treating the "surface of sheet metal satisfactory results are obtained if the roller conor other material in a rapid and effective mantaets W th e S e t s s antially in front of the ner. A further object of my invention is to cutting edge of the t o since in this case the 45 provide improved apparatus of t i i d hi h tool is lifted clear of the surface of the sheet a minimum amount of material is removed from as the T0116! contacts With e ridge, but when the sheet consistent with the required degree the roller rides down the ridge the tool tends of cleaning. V to dig into the crest of the said ridge. The net According to the present'invention, sheet, plate result in both cases will be a surface having a 50 or strip material is treatedfor the. removal of series of relatively deeply cut portions and also a surface layer of substantially uniform thick a series of untreated patches. Also serious chatness' by contro t e p o the ting ter of the tools results when the roller is not or other operating device in accordance with the located substantially in line with the cutting surface contour of the material being treated. edge of; the tool. A further serious drawback to 55 the surface treatment of thin sheets where the roller is located substantially behind the cutting edge of the tool is that the downward pressure on the roller tends to throw up a ripple immediately in front of the knife if the sheet does not lie quite flat on the table, and this causes serious chatter of the tool and its supporting means.

'All these difiiculties are overcome in the present invention by positioning the cutting edge of the tools abreast of and substantially in line with the contact of the roller with the surface of the strip. With such an arrangement the tool or tools are enabled to follow accurately the contour of the strip so that a uniform depth of cut is obtained. Moreover, when treating very thin strips, the pressure on the roller cannot throw up any ripples on buckled parts since its effect.

is to flatten the thin sheet where the tool or tools contact with the surface so that the ripare'to a ples due to bending of the sheet itself certain extent flattened out. i

There are many materials in sheet, plate, or strip formwhich can be surfaced in this manner, such as metals consisting of copper or cop per alloys, nickel and nickel alloys, iron and steel, aluminium and aluminium alloys, or zinc and its alloys. The surface of non-metallic sheets composed of hard rubber compounds, e. g. ebonite, or plastic materials such as those comprising synthetic resins or cellulose derivatives, may also be treated in a like manner.

According to one form of my invention the apparatus comprises a rigidly supported metal table about four feet wide and seventy feet long which carries a travelling carriage adapted to move along the whole length of the table. A strip of hot rolled brass about two feet wide by one tenth of an inch thick and about sixty feet long, the surface of which is required to be prepared, is placed ontop of the table and is firmly secured to same at each end by means of clamps. The travelling carriage may be mounted on two sets of rollers located at the front and rear of the carriage frame and is arranged to ride on top of the brass strip with the'rollers in contact with the upper surface of the said strip. One or more sets of cutting or scraping tools are attached to the carriage and these are preferably located in suitable tool holders on either side of the rear rollers. If desired, a series of cutting or scraping tools may be arranged in staggered formation so that a relatively wide strip is treated in one operation without leaving ridges between adjacent series of tools.

The carriage is heavily loaded, preferably by means of a dead weight, so that a distribution of forces ensuring the best conditions for cutting is obtained. Meansare provided for traversing the carriage along the whole length of the strip and this may take the form of an endless rope drive which may be driven by means of a suitable winch and electric motor. Alternatively, the carriage may be traversed along the length of the strip by means of an electric motor mounted on the carriage which drives, through suitable gearing, a pinion engaging with a rack aifixed to the table. When the carriage is moved forward for the working stroke the cut ters engage with the sheet and are set so as to remove a shaving of metal about one and a half thousandths of an inch in thickness. The thickness of the metal removed is maintained substantially uniform throughout the length of the travel, since the tools which are mounted on the carriage follow the surface contour of the sheet. 7

In order to prevent the wear of the tools during the backward travel of the carriage, the latter is arranged to be lifted completely clear of the metal strip by means of a further set of rollers mounted on the carriage which are adapted to ride on elevated rails attached to the side frames of the table. The arrangement is such that these rollers are out of contact with the rails during the working travel of the carriage but come into operation automaticallyrto lift the carriage clear of the strip on the backward travel. Other means may also be provided for lifting the tools clear of the work during the return stroke so'as to'enable a second set of tools to come into operation during that stroke, thus making the device double acting. The holders for the tools may be fitted to an automatic cross traversing device whereby the tools are moved in progressive steps across the width of the strip so that the whole surface is finally prepared. Alternatively, the strip itself may be moved laterally across the table, in Which case thetool holders are not moved across the carriage. 'The tools are arranged so as to present themselves to the work at a small cutting angle and the cutting edges may be set obliquely so that the metal shavings are deflected away from the rollers supporting the rear of the carriage.

By this novel method slow and laborious hand scraping operations are eliminated and in addition to greatly speeding up the rate of production, very considerable savings in labour costs are effected thereby. V

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings which show two methods of carrying same into effect.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal elevation of an improved machine for preparing the surface of metal sheets in which. the cutting tools are mounted on a travelling carriage.

Figure 2 is a plan of the machine shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a cross sectional elevation on the Figure 4 is a side elevation to a larger scale of the travelling carriage of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a plan view of the travelling carriage shown in Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a part sectional perspective detail of the mechanism for holding the cutting tools of the machine shown in Figure 1.

Figure 7 is a part sectional perspective detail of the mechanism for clamping the metal sheet of the machine shown in Figure 1.

Figure 8 is a longitudinal elevation of an alternative form of machine for preparing the surface of metal sheets in which the cutting tools are mounted on a stationary carriage.

Figure 9 is a plan view of the machine shown in Figure 8.

Figure 10 is a part sectional perspective detail of the lower portion of the mechanism for holding the cutting tools of the machine shown in Figure 8 with some of the component parts sepgrated to illustrate more clearly their configuraion.

Fig. 11 is a longitudinal elevation of another form of machine within my invention;

Fig. 12 is a plan view of the machine shown in Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a side elevation on a larger scale of thetraveling carriage shown in Fig. 11;

Fig. 14 isa plan view of said carriage; and

the carriage. Each tool .post forms the'holding .meansf'or a cuttingtool'28 and a'roller 29, the 'whole tool post assembly being pressed in a downward'directionby means of a spring 30 interposed between the upper. face 3| of the said post and a yoke piece '32 which is aiiixed-to the bodyof the carriage. Both rollers are adapted to. ride over the surfaceof the strip 3and the downward pressure on the tool posts can be adjusted by means of adjusting screws 33 on the yoke pieces 32. The carriage, which is preferably constructed of cast steel, is made sufficiently heavy to ensurethat the pressure exerted on the rollers 29 does not lift thecarriage as a whole.

The thickness of material removed from the surface of. the strip is determined by the'vertical position of the cuttingtool 28 relative to the W i connected by links 6 t rl1er29 and the 'necessary: adjustment of the ashaft, 1 extendifig t w m length of t tam tool to within very fine limits is-obtained by means n th haft, i t t t lower one d of l of an extended spindle 34 attached to the said the bearer frames simultaneously to a convenient tool. the upper d of he spi dl bein sc ewe position to suit any particular height of the stack with a fine thread which is adapted q (lo-Operate of strips. The shaft 1 is operated by means of r with an adjusting n 35 as ow In u e 'ahand wheel 8 located at one end of the machine, After adjustment, the the said hand wheel being adapted to rotate a its holder means of a sliding wedge 36 wh ch screwed spindle slw ieh engages with a block In is drawn up o he locking p si o hy mea adapted to slide within a slotted guide in a lever of an ofi-set extended tubular portion ll which is keyed to the shaft 1. axial with the spindle 34 which is screwed ex- The strip 3 is firmly secured in position on the i at its pp end to (IO-Operate w t a screwed collar 38, the latter being adapted to surface of the table by means of clamps which n firmly grip the ends of the strip. Three clamps bear on h upper fa 3 o f he oo post IZ-are provided at one endof the table and these The adjusting nut 35 which 1s free to turn 1n a recess formed at the top of the collar 38 is proare fixed in a slotted groove l3 extending across i the said table. At the other end of the table three Vlded w1th a marked 61180 39 whlch, 1n c l fl with a fixed pointer similarclamps M are provided but these are capable of longitudinal movement and are guide in depth of cut. Thetools are set obliquely as shown so that the metal shavings are deflected away longitudinal guides l5. The clamps consist from the rollers, the said tools being arranged essentially of a member 16 having a slot H to a co the end of the strip 3 and an eccensubstantially on the vertical centre line of the rollers and the cutting angle or angle of .rake

trically mounted grooved roller IS in contact with of the tool is preferably about 8.

the said strip as shown in Figure '7 Each of the mm M is connected to a 9 Working in a The carriage is traversed along the wholelength double acting hydraulic cylinder 20 and all three of the Ship by means of Wlre rope Wind} 15 mm's'er'e arranged to operate simultaneously. Wound round wlhch drum 42, the latter b lng driven by an electric motor 43 through a reduc- When the rams are operated in the direction of l tion gear 44. The ends of the rope 4| are firmly secured to the carriage at 4'5 and the rope passes arrow B the eccentrically mounted grooved rollers l8 tend to rotate in a clockwise direction t- 7 and 0hsequent1y t grip the Strip round pulleys46 and 41 located at each end of the table. The pulley 41 is mounted on slidable bearings 48 which are coupled to a tensioning gear with increasing intensity as the pull is increased.

49 so that the tension in the rope can be readily adjusted. The whole of the driving mechanism is It is found that a tension of about two tons can housed within a pit located beneath the table as shown in Figure 1.

t 15 is a Lcross-sec'tio nal:elevation through supporting table of the machine showing said carriage inend elevation. t

Referring to Figures l'to '7 of the drawings, the 'numerall denotes a rigidly supported metal table about four feet wide by seventy feet lon 'which is built up or cast iron'sections having a cross 7 section as' shown in Figure 31 The sections are carefully levelled and are bolted together so that the whole of the top portion2' of the table is per"- fectlyfiat. i Hot rolled brass strips 3, each about twoffeet wide by about sixty feet long and about one fifth of an inch iii-thickness are stacked at thesi'de of the machine and the topsheet of the stack is transferred to thetable over a number "of rollers l which are carried in bearer frames arranged at intervals as shown in'Figure 2;

Each bearer frame 5 be applied to the strip without any tendency for thelatter to slip. When the strip is required to be released it is only necessary to operate the hydraulic rams in the opposite direction. This movement causes the grooved rollers l8 to rotate slightly in an anti-clockwise direction and the grip is thereby automatically released. The travel of the rams is about four feet so that strips varying in lengthby this amountcan readily be treated. Where strips of shorterlength are required to be surfaced, the clamps]! are removed from the slotted groove l3 and are transferred to a further slotted groove 2|. v V

A travelling carriage 22 is adapted to move along the whole length of the table and is mounted as shown in Figure 5 on four wheels 23 positioned at each corner of the carriage. These wheels, which are arranged out of contact with the strips 3, run on two inlaid fiat steel rails 24- (Figure 3) which extend the whole length of the table, the carriage being prevented from leaving the rails by four vertical rollers which contact with the sides 25 of the table I; Atone end of the carriage two vertical tool posts 21 are arranged to slide 75 within rectangular guides formed in the body of switches (not shown on the drawings) associated with the driving motor circuit.

The rails 24, upon which the carriage rides, are upwardly inclined by a small amount at the end 50 of the table so that the carriage is slightly elevated at the end of its travel to ensure that on "the forward stroke the cut is applied gradually and without shock. Auxiliary rollers 5| are provided at the front end of the carriage and serve obstructions in the strip which might otherwise foul the front portion of the carriage.

1 During the backward travel of the carriage the latter is slightly elevated so that the tools and the rollers are lifted completely clear of the strip. This is accomplished by providing a further set of rollers 52 which are adapted to engage with runners 53 formed in the sideof the table. These runners are inclined in a downward direction at each end of the table as indicated at 54 and 55.

40, serves to indicate the The extent of the travel of i the carriage is governed by automatic limit to lift the latter clear of any uprising portions or tool is firmly positioned in e 7 lines in Figure 4 and the tical position.

return travel the rollers 52 ride which contact The rollers 52 are carried on the arms 56 which are pivoted in the manner shown in Figure 4. (The carriage in Figure 4 'is shown at the end of .the table remote from the end indicated in Figure 1.) During the forward or cutting stroke the rollers trail along-the runners as shownin full weight of the carriage is carried by the wheels 23 which ride on the rails 24.

When thecarriage reaches the end of its stroke the rollers 52 ride down the inclined runners at 55 and the arms 56 swing by gravity intoa ver- Further movement of the arms in an anti-clockwise direction is prevented, so that when the carriage is moved in the left hand direction on its return travel, the rollers 52 ride up the inclined runners at sume the position shown in ure 4, thus raising the carriage as a whole. The downward movement of the tool posts in their guides is limited by suitablestops, not shown in the drawings, and the carriage is lifted by an amount which ensures that the tools are raised completely clear of the strip. At the end of the down the portion of the side runners at 54 to lower the carriage once again on to the rollers 23. 7

As the tool posts are capable of vertical movement, the rollers, together with their attendant tools, follow surface contour of the strip so that the thickness of metal removed is substantially uniform throughout the length of travel of the carriage and the efi'ect of irregularities in the contour of the strip across its width is automatically compensated for by the fact that the tools are capable of independent movement. In order to treat the whole surface of the strip, the latter is moved laterally on the table by means of simple hand levers after the tension in the strip has been released by operating the hydraulic rams I9 in the direction of arrow C. The amount by which the strip is moved over is slightly less than the width of the tool and the correct position of the strip is gauged by parallel guide lines marked on the surface of the table at each end as indicated at 51 in Figure '7. The strip is again tensioned after repositioning, two or three clamps being adapted to grip the strip, and after the first out has been made, one of the tools is readjusted by an amount substantially equal to the thickness of the initial out since the roller adjacent to this tool lies within the groove formed by the first cutting operation. No further adjustment of this tool is required but before the last out is made the roller of the other tool will ride on 2. treated portion of the strip and consequently a similar adjustment to this tool is necessary.

The disposition of the tool posts is such that the carriage can ride over the Whole of the strip without fouling the clamps I2 and I4 or the hydraulic rams. To prevent any tendency for the central portion of the strip to move laterally on the table, suitable side stops may be provided with the sides of the said strip. A V shaped brush 58 is positioned on the underside of the carriage for the purpose of removing any swarf lying on the surface of the strip, means (not shown on the drawings) being provided for removing small pieces of swarf adhering to the bristles of the brush. Alternatively, a smooth deflecting member composed of rubberized canvas or the like may be used instead of a brush for removing the swarf.

After one side of the strip has been completely dotted lines in Figof coils, is moved relative to the tools.

55 and the arms asthe brass strip surfaced, the strip. is turned over and the opposite side is treated inthe mannerdescribed. This may be carried out on the same machine or the strip may be conveyed along the roller table 59 for surfacing on a second machine of similar design;

In an alternative'form of machine as shown in Figures 8 to the cutting tools 60 are mounted in 'a fixed carriage or housing 6| and the strip 62, which is introduced into the machine in the form The untreated strip, whichis uncoiled on a decoiler 63, is passed through a pair of driven pinch rolls 64 and is flattened out by a set of flattening rolls 65. After passing through a further pair of pinch rolls 66 the strip is introduced to the cutting tools and after surface treatment is passed through a final pair of rolls 61 before being wound round a tension coiler 68. This coiler, which is provided with suitable gripping means for tightly gripping the end of the strip, pulls the strip past the cutting tools and is driven by an electric motor '69 through a reduction gear 10.

Ten cutting "tools are provided which are mounted in slidable tool posts II arranged in staggered formation as shown in Figure 9 so that the whole width of the'strip is surfaced in one operation. The arrangement of the tool posts and manner in which the cutting tools are adjusted and locked in position is substantially the same as in the machine previously described. Each cutting tool 60 has a roller 12 mounted adjacent thereto which bears against two backing rollers I3, the latter being journalled in bearings 74. The whole roller assembly is located in position by means of a cover plate I5 which is screwed to the tool post by screws 16 as shown in Figure 10. s

The tool posts II are pressed in a downward direction by means of springs 11 interposed between a triangular shaped plate 18 and the upper face of each tool post. The plate 18 is hinged at 79 and is adapted to 'be downwardly pressed at the free end by turning a large nut 80 mounted on a screwed spindle 8|. In this manner the pressure on the tools is applied progressively and gradually so that shock is eliminated, and excessive tension in the strip is avoided at the commencement of the cutting operation. After the whole of the surface of the strip has been treated-the coil is'removed from the tension coiler 68, which is of the usual contracting drum type, and the opposite side of the strip is then treated in the manner described.

According to the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 11 to the apparatus comprises a rigidly supported metal table IOI about four feet wide and seventy feet long which carries a traveling carriage I02 adapted to move along the whole'length of the table. A strip of hot rolled brass I03 about two feet wide by one tenth of an inch thick and about sixty feet long, the surface of which is required to be prepared, is placed.

on top of the table and is firmly secured to same at each end by means of clamps I 04. The travelling carriage I02 is mounted on two sets of rollers I05 and I06 located at the front and rear of the carriage frame and is arranged to ride on top of I03 with the rollers in contact with the upper surface of the said strip as shown in Figures 11, 12 and 13. r

Two sets of cutting or scraping tools I01 are attached to the carriage and these are located in suitable tool holders I08 on either side of the rear rollers I06. The tools and holders are arom .411 :mmmt g l ysl fi cated a h rangediso that thecutting edgestof the said tools by means of -a-dea-d weight, so that-a distribution frames H9 of the table f lforces ensuring the bestconditions for;cutting is o tain Means re p vid d f Q t a e sin the carriage along the whole lengthof the strip and this preffir lbly takes the -i orm of an endless endqof the table and drivenby meansof a winch 1: Whichis c l to an e e tri m r l hrough a suitable-reduction gear I Hi; Alterna- 429 ;=t1vely, the I carriage gmay be traversed f along the length of the stripbylmeans of; an electric motor mqunted-on the carriage whieh -drives through suitable gearing, a pinion engaging with a rack .afiixed to the table, the gearing being arranged so as not to interfere withthe small 11p and down movement of the carriage; When the carriage ,is moved forward for the working stroke the cutters il-lll engage withthe strip Inland are set ;so;as to remove a shaving of metal about one and a half thousandths of ,an-inch in thickness; The thicknessrof, the metal removedis maintained substantially uniform throughout the length of the travel since the tools which are mounted on the carriage follow the surface contour of the strip. In order to prevent the-wear of thetools during the foackward; travel of the carriage, .the latter ,is arranged to be lifted completely clear ,-o f the m t ip lav mean i-a1 ur c f when l I! mounted in suitable bearings on theflSide frames of the carriaga-said rollers being adapted to ride on elevated rails -I I8 attached to theside .7 V i a n ment -issuch that the rollers, Ill are-outof contact with the rails during the working-travel of thecarw riage,,as.shown inthe drawings, but come into foperation to lift the carriage clear of thefs'tripon the backward travelaliy moving the hand lever 4 20, atlthe endtof the working-stroke, into the ing the device double position shown in'chaindotted lines in'Figure 12.

Thermovement of;thehandleverinto this-posi- .tion moves. the rollers l t1 laterally" until they assume a positionimmediatelyabove the rails which aredownwardly inclined atveach end,-as indicated at lZl in Figure-ll, iniorder to-permit f this lateral movement. If desired,-instead-of moving the rollers ll! by -hand,-these maybe moved over automatically 7 when the carriage reaches theend of its travel. Other -means, not shown in vthe drawings,'may be providedfor lifting theltools clear of the work duringthe return stroke so as to enablea secondsetof'tools-to comeinto operation during that stroke, thus makacting.

In order that the whole surface of the strip I03 may be prepared, the said strip is moved laterally across the table by mounting the clamps I04 on square threaded spindles I23 which are turned by means of handles I24. Instead of turning the spindles by hand, these may be motor driven and. automatically operated when the carriage reaches the end of its travel.

' In an alternative arrangement, not shown on the drawings, the holders for the tools may be fitted to an automatic cross traversing device whereby the tools are moved in progressive steps ac oss he width fih rip, an in this vcase the strip-is rigidly clamped to the table.

Machines constructed in accordance with my i tion m jb op at a h h ee Q tingspeeds up to three hundred feet per minute being possible with certain kinds of material. It will be understood that my invention is not limit iot e y oi c n toois desc e inc Et emaa if desi e rep'la d ota cutters or rota-ry'grinding wheels. 1 A anl a a onslm b m dam h p es: entinvention, it is to be understood that I do not desire to be limited by the foregoing a s ripn and illustration except insofar as is indicated in e pe aims I claim:

, 1. Apparatus for treating the surface of a ma: ;ter-i al, particularly anon-plane undulating strip material, comprising means for supporting the said material, a toolcapable of movement toward and awayfrom-the surface of the material being treated for removing -from said material a surface layer of small thickness, means for caus ing the said tool and the material to move longitudinally in cooperating relationship relative to each other, resilient means for pressing the tool against the surface of the material being treated, and means rigidly mounted relative to the tool and arranged to contact with the undulating surfaceof said material solely at a point abreast of and substantially in alignment with the cutting edge of said tool for solely controlling the position of the said tool relative to the said supof the surface being treated.

a roller rigidly mounted with regard to the tool, the roller and ,1\ J, 2. Apparatus as;claimedin claim l in wh ch the ,controlling' means comprises the tooltogether being capable of up and down movement relative to the supporting means and both being capable of co-operating relationship with the surface being treated. l 3. Apparatus as olai-medin claim 1 in which the controlling means comprises a roller rigidly mounted with regard to the tool, the cutting edge A0 moving lonigtudinally in of's-aid tool being positioned substantiallypn the 7 center lineof said roller. 7 l

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim -1 comprising a plurality of tools located at an oblique angle in order to disperse the material removed from the surfac e layer. I 5. Apparatus for treating lengths of a material having an undulating surface lying substantially in one planeand'of which the magnitude of the undulations is very small in relationship tothe surface area undergoing treatment comprising a supporting base plate for the said material a carriage traveling longitudinallyv over the a suriac ;@f: :mai al a. too r, m v n :a f face glayer of. small thickness from said material mq nted 591 the arriaee r l p zandl qwn moi B- ment relative to the carriage and base plate, a roller contacting the surface of the material at a point abreast of and substantially in alignment with the cutting edge of the tool, said roller being rigidly'mounted relative to the tool so as to be movable upand down with it as aforesaid; and resilient means for maintaining the tool and roller in engagement with the surface of the for supporting the carriage at a higher level on its return movement so that the tool is raised but of engagement with the surface.

7. Apparatus for treating lengths of a material having an undulating surface lying substantially in one plane and of which the magnitude of the undulations is very small in relationship to the surface area undergoing treatment, comprising a supporting base plate for the said material, a weighted carriage capable of traveling on supports contacting with the surface of the said ma.- terial, means for causing the weighted carriage to travel longitudinally over the surface of the said material, and at least one stationary .tool mounted rigidly with respect to the carriage and adapted to remove from said material a surface layer of small thickness, the said tool being arranged to contact with the surface of the said material at a point abreast of and substantially in alignment with the point of contact of at least one of said carriage-supports with the said surface so that the said support controls the position of the tool relative to the base-plate in accord ance with the contour of the surface being treated.

. 8. Apparatus for treating the surface of a nonplane strip material comprising a fixed carriage holding at least one knife movably mounted'on said carriage for removing from said material a surface layer of small thickness, means for causing the strip material to move longitudinally relative to the carriage and in cQeoperatingrelationship with the knife, at least one roller rigidly mounted with respect to the knife for controlling the position of said knife relative to the surface of the material in accordance with the contour of said surface, said knife and roller contacting said surface in a line extending substantially transversely to the line of travel of said strip material, and resilient means for maintaining the knife and the roller in engagement with the surface of the material during the longitudinal movement thereof.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8 comprising a plurality. of knives and a plurality of rollers arranged in staggered formation.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8 comprising means for bringing the knife into co-operating relationship with the surface of the material slowly and gradually at the commencement of the operation.

11. Apparatus as set out in claim 7 the means for causing longitudinal movement of said carriage permitting movement of said carriage toward and away from said baseplate.

12. Apparatus as set out in claim '7 including a flexible cable in the means for causing longitudinal movement of said carriage.

13. In a machine of the character described, a work supporting table, a weighted carriage supported by and travelling along said table, a tool holder slidably mounted on said carriage contact with the undulating for movement toward and away from said work, a tool carried by said tool holder, a roller carried by said tool holder for controlling the position of said tool'r-elative to said table in accordance with the contour of said work, said tool and roller contacting said work in a line extending substantially transversely to the line of travel of said tool, and resilient means for urging said tool holder and the tool and roller carried thereby toward said work.

14. A machine as set out in claim 13 including means for adjusting the position of the tool relative to said roller to adjust the depth of cut of said tool.

15.Apparatus as set out in claim l'including a set of rollers which normally support the carriage during movement in a forward direction and a second set of rollers which automatically raise and support the carriage at a higher level on its return movement so that the tool is raised out ofcontact with the surface of the material.

16. Appartaus for treating the surface of a non-plane strip material comprising a supporting base plate for the said material, a weighted carriage having frontand rear rollers supporting it in contact with the surface of said material, means for causing the weighted carriage to travel longitudinally over said surface, and at least one stationary tool mounted rigidly with respect to the carriage and adapted to remove from said material a surface layer of small thickness, the said tool being arranged to contact with the surface of the said material at a point abreast oflan d substantially in alignment with the point 'of contact with said surface of a rear roller so that the said rear roller controls the position of theftool relative to the base plate in accordance with the contour of the surface being treated. i I V a 17. Apparatus for treating lengths of a material having an undulating surface lying substantially in one plane and of which the magnitude of the undulations is very small in relationship to the surface area undergoing treatment, the said apparatus comprising means for supporting the said material, a tool for removing from said material a surface layer of small thickness and capable of movement toward and away from said supporting means, means for causing the tool and the material to move longitudinally in cooperating relationship relative to each other, resilient means for maintaining the tool in engagement with the surface of the material during said relative movement, and means rigidly mounted relative to the tool and arranged to surface of said material at a point abreast of and substantially in alignment with the cutting edge of said tool for controlling the position of said tool relative to said supporting means in accordance with the contour of the surface being treated.

J GEN EDWIN 'MALAM. 

